Exhaustion
by bananathebookworm
Summary: Kurt's overworking himself, and everyone is getting worried for him. Finn finally intervenes.


Based on a fluff meme prompt: _Between driving back and forth from Dalton every day, doing his homework, adjusting to his new relationship with Blaine, cooking a healthy dinner when Carole has to work late, and talking to the ladies of ND about their various dramas, Kurt is quite seriously on the verge of keeling over. It doesn't stop him though._

_One night Finn comes home from late football practise to find Kurt in the kitchen, unpacking groceries, sipping coffee, flipping through his textbook, and arguing with Rachel on the phone, all at once. He looks completely exahausted, and Finn decides enough is enough. He confiscates the book and phone, steers his stepbrother to the sofa, and orders him not to move for the next few hours. Kurt kicks up an epic tantrum and sulks like nobody's business, but is asleep within minutes. Success! Score one for the quarterback._

_... Except now Finn is in charge of cooking tea for their hardworking parents. And if Finn dares to feed Burt something that doesn't meet his strict diet requirements, Kurt will impale him with a soup ladel._

_Fail._

_Finn's solution: smuggle a team of kitchen-savvy ND members into the house, bribe them into cooking for him, and send them on their way before Kurt wakes up. Easy, right?_

* * *

><p>Kurt was slowly turning into a zombie; Finn was convinced of this. Okay, maybe not, but Kurt definitely looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Finn was sure the only thing keeping Kurt from passing out on the spot at this point was the coffee that always seemed to be in Kurt's hand. Everyone else could see that Kurt was trying to do too many things at once, but he refused to listen to anyone who told him to rest. Kurt was determined to handle everything on his own and Finn couldn't help but be worried about his stepbrother.<p>

Said stepbrother was currently flipping through a textbook, cleaning the kitchen and talking with Mercedes about what had been happening at McKinley since he transferred to Dalton. Finn couldn't understand how he was able to do all that without snapping. He wanted to tell Kurt to take a break, but last time he had tried that it hadn't ended well. He wasn't sure what to do. If Kurt kept this up he could end up making himself sick or worse.

* * *

><p>Finn woke up around one in the morning, stomach growling angrily. This in itself wasn't an unusual occurrence, but when he passed Kurt's door he noticed light seeping out from under it.<p>

Finn opened the door and found Kurt sitting at his desk, still in his Dalton uniform and poring over the same textbook from earlier.

"Kurt," Finn said, startling the other boy, "Why are you still up?"

"Because I have a test tomorrow and I need to study." Kurt said, barely stifling a yawn.

"You're going to fail the test if you fall asleep half way through it. Go to bed, Kurt."

Kurt just ignored him, continuing to flip through the book.

"Kurt, seriously, you'll do fine. You've been studying the same stuff for days. Go to sleep."

Kurt attempted to glare, but a yawn that he was unable to stop made it a lot less effective, "Fine." He slammed the book shut and shoved it into his school bag before standing and pulling pajamas out of his dresser.

"Goodnight, Kurt."

* * *

><p>Finn came home from practice later than usual the next day, and was met with a sight he was less than happy to see. Kurt was unpacking a bag of groceries and preparing to start cooking dinner as Carole was working late that evening. While he was doing this, he had another textbook and was flipping through it while arguing with someone, by the sounds of it Rachel, on the phone. What bothered Finn the most were the dark circles under Kurt's eyes; evidence that he was even more exhausted than he was trying to let show. That was it, Finn decided, he didn't care if Kurt hated him, the boy needed to get some rest before he dropped dead.<p>

Finn walked up behind Kurt, who hadn't heard him come in, and quickly snatched the textbook and phone away from him.

"Sorry Rach, Kurt has to go now," he said before hanging up, holding the items above his head when Kurt tried to grab them.

"Finn!" he cried, "Give those back! I need to study and hanging up on someone like that is rude!"

"No, I don't think so. You're over working yourself Kurt. You look like you haven't slept properly in weeks and you're going to make yourself sick if you keep this up."

"I don't care, Finn, give me my book and phone back."

"No." Finn said simply before placing the items on top of the cupboards where Kurt couldn't easily reach them.

"You're impossible!" Kurt said.

"Oh, I'm impossible? You're the one who refuses to rest and is going end up in the hospital if you don't take a break. Seriously Kurt, you need to sleep."

Kurt said nothing, but tried to get around Finn so he could get his belongings. Finn rolled his eyes before picking Kurt up and carrying him upstairs to his room.

"Finn!" Kurt shrieked, "Put me down! I need to get all this stuff done! And who's going to cook dinner? Your mom's working late, dad can't cook, and there's no way you're going anywhere near the stove."

"I'll take care of it," Finn said, dropping his brother on his bed, "Get some sleep, because you really, really need it."

Kurt tried to get up from the bed, but Finn pushed him back down again. This time Kurt stayed put figuring there was no arguing with Finn this time. He settled for glaring at the taller boy instead.

"Seriously Kurt, I'm worried about you," Finn said, heading back for the door, "our parents and friends are too, you know that? We all know you're working yourself way to hard. You deserve some rest, please try and get some-" Finn turned back around to find his brother out like a light. He smiled; it was about time.

* * *

><p>Okay, so there was a minor flaw in this plan. Finn suddenly remembered Kurt's words about needing to cook dinner and started to panic. He knew how to make a few things, but none of them were 'heart-healthy' and therefore not allowed to be served for dinner. He sighed, picking up his phone; desperate times called for desperate measures.<p>

It took all of twenty minutes to get Mercedes, Rachel, and Tina over to help him cook. All he had to do was explain that he finally got Kurt to take a rest and they had completely understood. Of course, this also meant that Finn would have to repay them later, but it didn't matter as long as they had a good dinner cooked and ready for when Burt got home.

"So, Finn, how'd you finally manage to get him to sleep?" Mercedes asked.

Finn sighed, "I had to take away his things and force him to lay down and rest."

"Well, we're all glad he's finally taking a break. With the rate he's going, it's only a matter of time before he works himself to death." Tina said.

Finn nodded, "That's what I'm worried about. He's always so determined to handle things on his own and it scares me. I don't want him to end up in trouble because he won't ask for help."

The three girls continued to talk to Finn as they worked, and before they knew it dinner was ready. Finn wished he could invite the girls to stay for dinner, but they couldn't be there if Kurt woke up. Kurt would throw another fit and complain about troubling his friends in matters he could handle on his own. The girls left, reminding Finn that he owed them, but also thanking them for helping Kurt.

Finn was just setting dinner on the table when Burt walked in. He looked confused when he didn't see any sign of his son.

"Where's Kurt?" Burt asked.

"He's sleeping."

"Sleeping? You mean you actually got him to take a break?" Burt asked, shocked but relieved that Kurt was finally getting the rest he very much needed and deserved.

Finn nodded, and told the story one more time. Burt chuckled a little when Finn explained how he had to carry Kurt, who had been struggling, to his room. Kurt had always been stubborn, even when he was practically passing out on his feet. Finn also explained how he had some of the girls from Glee Club come over and help cook, because heaven knows Finn would explode the kitchen if he had tried to cook himself.

"Thank you, Finn. You know, for getting him to calm down a little. He's always assumed that he needs to stay strong for everyone else, that he needs to handle things on his own so he doesn't bother other people. He grew up a lot faster than he should have, and he always insists on being the adult. Thank you for taking care of him."

They finished dinner and then cleaned up the kitchen as best they could before settling on the couch to watch sports. Carole came home shortly after that, and retold the story to her. Carole was proud of Finn for helping out his brother, even if it wasn't such an easy task.

* * *

><p>Kurt didn't actually emerge from his room until late the next morning, looking more awake and alert than he had in a long time. The rest of the Hudmels were relieved by this fact. Kurt was also in a much better mood now that he had gotten some rest, and he didn't look so tense and stressed.<p>

Kurt smiled at Finn before walking over and hugging him. Finn was confused; Kurt didn't normally initiate random hugs.

"Thank you, Finn." was all Kurt said.

Finn smiled, "I was worried about you, Kurt, I just wanted you to get some rest."

"I don't suppose I could get my phone and textbook back, could I?" Kurt asked.

"Absolutely not," Finn said, "It's Saturday. You're going to be a normal teenager today and do absolutely nothing productive."

Kurt wanted to protest, but when he saw the looks he was getting from not only Finn, but Burt and Carole as well, he thought better of it.

"Fine." he said.

"Take it easy, kiddo." Burt said, "You deserve a day off."

Kurt smiled. When he thought about it, a day off did sound rather nice. There was still one thing though, "Would you at least give me my phone back so I can call Blaine? I was supposed to last night and he's probably freaking out wondering why I haven't."

Kurt's request was granted and he called a very frantic sounding Blaine, who had been very worried when Kurt didn't call.

"I promise I'm still alive," Kurt said, "A certain stepbrother of mine forced me to go to sleep early last night. I didn't get up until about an hour ago."

He could hear Blaine sigh with relief, "Good."

"What?"

"That Finn made you go to sleep. When you didn't call last night I was scared you had fallen asleep at the wheel or something. You looked exhausted Kurt. It's good your brother's looking out for you."

Kurt hadn't really realized until then just how much he had been worrying everyone, and he was even more thankful now that Finn had intervened.

"He is kind of an awesome brother, isn't he?"

"Absolutely, you're lucky to have a brother who cares so much about you."

Their conversation continued for quite sometime, the two of them talking about anything and everything. Yes, Kurt decided, this was nice. Spending the day doing nothing but talking to his boyfriend rather than doing a million different things at once. He figured he ought to try it more often.

* * *

><p><em>Since the last few stories I posted have been more on the angsty side, I figured I'd post something a little bit lighter in tone. I'm not fully happy with this, but it was nice to write after writing so many angstier stories.<em>


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